and spent a lot of time healing/resting. It was eerily reminiscent of sick days from high school where I’d watch A Wedding Story and A Baby Story all day on TLC. Did anyone else do this?! It was very different than the early days of having a newborn. Even when you come home from the hospital, there’s a lot of stress as you find your groove and routine, figure out feeding, and are awake most of the night. For this recovery, the Pilot swooped in and took care of everything while I slept. A lot. He is amazing.

The Pilot took Liv on a date to Mission Saturday night,

and I felt good enough to put on *real* clothes and enjoy a girls’ date to the movies yesterday afternoon. Madre and I took Liv to see Zootopia. It was hilarious and heartwarming; far better than I was expecting.

(We have a pretty solid “no princess dresses outside of home” rule unless we’re venturing to Disneyland, but somehow Liv knew I was on pain meds because I was just like “treat yo’ self.”)

We had a delicious dinner at home (chicken, sweet potato, zucchini, and macaroni n’ cheese shells) and spent the evening hanging out. It was perfect.

Even though I’m out of the fitness game for a while, I still have some fun ideas for posts coming up (including some how-tos, recipes, workouts, and a random craft I’ve been dying to make). Here is a core workout that I was able to try last week!

I stopped working out my core so often when I realized that visual ab definition is directly attributed to clean eating and cardio more than anything. But, there’s something to be said about cranking out some burning core work in conjunction with sweaty cardio. It’s a great way to break up the cardio segments (so you get a rest from that type of work and can really hit it hard each time!), and also bring awareness to your core during the sprints/runs. Over time, I’ve learned how important it is to engage your transverse to support your other exercises. Another key component is breath! Make sure that you aren’t holding your breath as you work out.

So tell me friends: what was the highlight of your weekend? Any awesome fitness accomplishments? Last movie you saw at the theater? I can’t wait to see the sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. (I still say, “And inside the lump… was my twin” on a regular basis haha.)

Ha, I just about spit my coffee out when I read ‘treat yo’ self’ on Liv’s dress! I tend to steer away from crunches because I don’t ever feel amazing effects – especially since starting to take Megaformer classes here and there where it hurts to sneeze 2 days later. That’s my kind of core bang for my buck 🙂

I got a 9 mile run in yesterday in prep for a half on May 1, which – for a very UNNATURAL runner like myself who has had to work pretty hard to get there – always feels like an accomplishment.

Re: princess dresses. Friday night I was serving where I work, and this Mom came in with her two daughters. ALL dressed in different princess dresses – the Mom was Snow White. She totally owned it and was like, well, I told them they could pick my outfit. It was pretty cute and ballsy to walk into a busy SF restaurant like that. My coworkers and I were like “we didn’t know royalty was coming in tonight!” Too cute.

OMG I was just thinking of those shows yesterday! I think A Makeover Story always aired around the same time as well. TLC reality shows used to be so innocent…hahaha. I think they still advertised it as “The Learning Channel” back then.

Glad to hear you’re on the mends! I do a few pilates core work moves in my strength routine, but otherwise I don’t do specific core work. As long as you’re stabilizing through the movements, you really don’t need to. Like you said, it’s about what you eat more than anything!

I’ve been wanting to read Me Before You for awhile! I need to read it before seeing the movie! This weekend’s highlight was a 5k I did on Saturday, despite the terrible winds haha. Hope you’re feeling better!

Although it stinks to have to go through surgery & recovery, It’s kinda nice to enjoy the opportunity to take it easy and be waited on for a bit! We don’t get to do that very often (ever?)! Enjoy and continued good recovery vibes to you!!

So glad to hear that you are recovering well! <3
I agree that ab work hasn't really been part of my workouts so much since I started focusing on the "whole body." Also, I just hate doing it LOL I was doing some weighted step ups today that were actually a killer core workout that you wouldn't expect!

i feel the same way! BUT i’ve found that a lot of clients (and guests in the classes i teach) really like “traditional” core exercises, so i’ll throw them in there in limited amounts 😉
love weighted step ups! so excited to do them again eventually 🙂
xoxo

I wish you the speediest of recoveries! I’ve also heard that anything from Extraordinary Desserts is scientifically proven to aid recovery time 😉 I’d also love to hear how you handle mentally being out from exercise for a while. I’ve been out since November after being hit by a car and I’m going crazy here (just let me run already! Argggh). You are so good at staying positive, it’s so inspiring and I love it, and I’d love to hear a post about it down the road. Cheers!

oh my gosh, you’re right! (can you believe i still haven’t been there?!)
i can definitely do a post about it later! for now i’m still in the “thank god this problem was fixed” euphoria, but i’m sure i’ll get antsy in the next week. not being able to move the way you’re craving is really hard. hope that you’re doing much better after the accident <3

You should really try Extraordinary Desserts. For science. (And to celebrate problems being fixed, woohoo! 🙂 )
I actually just signed up for the Coronado Bridge run in May as something to work towards, though I may end up walking it. It’s really frustrating when you want to do things that your body can’t.

it will be for purely research purposes 😉
yes, it’s super frustrating. hang in there. when you’re back in the game, you will crush it- and it will feel so good to know you took time to wait until your body was ready. thinking of you

Glad to hear your recovery is going well! Take it easy, you deserve it! Love the picture of the three of you at the top, so precious, and Livi and Tom- too cute! So many good books, so little time! Cameron Diaz’s new book came out today, so I’m excited to read it.

Hi, gorgeous! I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to The Fitnessista, a healthy lifestyle blog emphasizing quick workouts, quick recipes and adventures as a wife and mom. Though I am a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor and weight loss specialist, the information posted here is not intended to substitute the advice of a medical professional. Please check out the about page for more info. Thank you for reading! ❤️